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Loading... Treason's Harbour (original 1983; edition 1997)by Patrick O'Brian
Work InformationTreason's Harbour by Patrick O'Brian (1983)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Book 9 in Patrick O'Brian's series of sea stories featuring Captain Jack Aubrey and ship's doctor and part-time spy Stephen Maturin. In this one, they go after a potentially incredibly valuable prize and deal with some issues of compromised intelligence. You know, it sometimes occurs to me to think that either O'Brian knows nothing about pacing or just does not care, and this volume is very much a case in point. Rambling conversations about nothing relevant go on for pages while dramatic moments where plot-critical things are happening are sometimes passed over very quickly. And yet somehow, at his best, he makes that work for him. And as far as I'm concerned, it definitely worked for him here. This was kind of slow, and not all that exciting, but doggone it, I found it just terribly pleasant, somehow, as I sat there reading it in my living room on a series of lovely spring days, imagining the desert breeze wafting in through my windows might at any moment start bringing me the scent of the ocean and feeling content with my life of not being shot at by the French. It was a while since I last read an Aubrey & Maturin book but I've had this one on my to-read for too long. I did not enjoy it much though. It was ok, but there was too much text about nothing and too little text about actions. The background is that Aubrey and Maturin are stranded on Malta, waiting for repairs of Aubrey's ship(s) or a new command. Malta is awash with rumors about what is going on and is a haven for French spies, and double agents. Since Maturin's cover is long blown he becomes the target of an operation and from there we go. Maturin also acquires a diving bell. That is fun for him. The completionist in me could not skip this book, but I probably should have. no reviews | add a review
Belongs to SeriesAubrey-Maturin (9) Is contained inIs abridged in
All Patrick O'Brian's strengths are on parade in this novel of action and intrigue, set partly in Malta, partly in the treacherous, pirate-infested waters of the Red Sea. While Captain Aubrey worries about repairs to his ship, Stephen Maturin assumes the center stage for the dockyards and salons of Malta are alive with Napoleon's agents, and the admiralty's intelligence network is compromised. Maturin's cunning is the sole bulwark against sabotage of Aubrey's daring mission. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813Literature English (North America) American fictionLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. W.W. Norton2 editions of this book were published by W.W. Norton. Editions: 0393308634, 0393037096 Recorded BooksAn edition of this book was published by Recorded Books. |
We have here also Maturin's diving bell used to recover - almost- a sunken 'treasure' from an Turkish galley, and Maturin's rather goofy friend the half blind Reverend Martin. Jack has also to contend with friend-for-life Ponto, Mrs. Fielding's enormous dog, who he saves from the cistern.
There are also spy shenanigans aplenty as Lesueur circles Stephen and plots against him with his Maltese henchmen, while Stephen, always with the upper hand, delivers false information to them through Mrs Fielding. Add to this the presence of Way, that sneaking, conniving spy planted high up in the British hierarchy, and how Stephen beats him at cards, winning a ship assignment for the newly minted Captain Pullings among other things.
Of course, Surprise is there in all her glory, as is Heneage Dundas, the awful Admiral Harte, the employment of a drag sail as a ruse de guerre, a hike across a desert with camels, Aubrey's diamond chelengk, a captured French privateer, a dashing rescue of Mrs Fielding by Stephen in the night - so much going on here that's so much fun. This one is worth a re-re-re-read. ( )